given the economic instability that we have in europe, as to what is happening in greece and we have our fiscal cliff here in the united states, what role do you see the council on foreign relations play in the overall big picture, especially helping to ease the situation of the economic problems in the united states? guest: the council on foreign relations is an independent, non-partisan organization that has nothing to do with the u.s. government other than the fact that our scholars try to help influence and educate the public. the government on foreign policy. the uprising in the arab world, to the caller's question, is happening in the worst of all possible times. the u.s. and strapped financially. europe is back in a recession and confronted with serious economic problems, but europe and the united states would, in the past, be the place that traditionally had helped to support economic change and prosperity in that part of the world. now what we're seeing are caught are countries like -- are countries like qatar in saudi arabia stepping in. again, the instability in the region